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You can use USPS First Class for things under one pound (and not super large), and Priority for things over a pound. I use Parcel Select only for very large items, when Priority is way too expensive. Do you check the shipping calculator when you are listing to see the costs of various options?
That’s a nice one. Here are the key words I would use:
flat weave
kilim
tribal
fringeAmatino,
Have you seen this video?I think someone posted it here a long time ago. He uses the stiffer packing paper plus tons of time fine-tuning, but maybe it would work to just use the packing paper without too much fiddling.
I’m a no frills plain jane flat-layer myself, but my photos are far from great.
How will your tax man know which Business Expense lines are the inventory purchases that he needs to ignore?
Made me think of Pegasus, but the only other Pegasus sheet listing which has the same logo seemed also not sure of the right name.
Purchased 4 Marimekko vtg airline dishes for a total of $5. Sold separately for $22 each – took about a year to sell all of them. Learned to look for Marimekko on SL – thank you!
Pottery barn pillow cover. Purchased for $2 at SA, sold for $30 in 3 months. I was surprised it was so cheap – usually my SA would charge around $5 for this sort of thing.
This is the second vtg 90s multi-neon Roffe/Demetre ski jacket that I’ve sold. Both were purchased at rummage sales for about $1-2. This one sold in a few months for $55. The previous one (more than a year ago), which was in slightly better condition and a longer style, sold for $69.
Vtg Mickey and Minnie denim tank dress designed by Jerry Leigh (whoever that is). Purchased for $5 from indy resale shop in the middle of nowhere. Was hoping for $55, but let it go for $44 after 9 months.
My one weakness while scavenging is buying clothing by obscure super high end brands and expecting to make big bucks. Often they are too obscure for anyone to be looking for them on ebay, or even if they are, they just don’t sell for that much. So I have to keep repeating to myself – Just b/c something sells for $1000 retail, doesn’t mean you will get more than $30 for it on ebay! Anyway, this time it turned out okay in the end. In a future post, I’ll share some that did not. (Okay, I have way more than one scavenger weakness, but let’s see if anybody got the TV show reference). Anyway…. Thakoon wool pants retail for $400-500. I purchased these for $8. Was hoping for $70. Sold for $42 after 7 months.
My thought is to message the buyer as soon as they buy to confirm that they want beige, not blue or white. I would also email them.
How frustrating!
Re: cogs, remember that you can also count items that you purchased for selling purposes but had to discard for some reason (broken, donated). When you do the inventory-based calculation of COGS like in the IRS worksheet, the cost of these additional items automatically gets incorporated (assuming you removed them from your inventory tracking). If you just track cost of each item that you actually sold, you miss out on this extra cost deduction.
Have you scouted in your region for the smaller independent thrift stores that may have sporadic hours but much better deals? We have a handful in our area that are only open a couple days a week because they’re run out of churches or community centers. They often have either “pay by the bag” deals or just ridiculously cheap prices. A little more of a hassle to scavenge because stuff is in piles, but much better deals.
Jay, I have been to lots of small independent thrift stores with good prices in the middle of nowhere with weird hours, but what they sell is 99% crap (ie, ebay sales price of $8 or less or unsellable due to heavy wear). I never use the fill-a-bag option b/c when I only find 2-3 items that i want, it’s cheaper to buy them individually. The stores that have better stuff have started creating boutique sections.
My point here is not to complain about how bad things are (b/c I have found a way that works for me), but just to say that not all areas are the same. Even rural areas vary. I would really like to come to visit the independent thrifts in your area some time and fill some bags! 🙂
Re: inventory costs, I just want to say that not all rural areas have thrifts with good stuff for low prices. My monthly average cost per item purchased ranges from $4 to $15. Usually around $10-11. The only way to lower that to $1 per item is to buy stuff that sells for $8 or less on ebay. I’m okay with spending more time and money to buy fewer items that give me a much higher profit.
[deleted a wall of text that described my local thrift situation in more detail :)]
thanks dearmila. Your method works for me, so I’m going to send out a bunch of offers now.
I never do ebay stuff while listening to the podcast, b/c when I do I miss things or make mistakes.
